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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28601655">The Catalyst</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/defensorangeli/pseuds/defensorangeli'>defensorangeli</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>American Assassin (2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Flashbacks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:53:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,691</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28601655</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/defensorangeli/pseuds/defensorangeli</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Olivia Ruiz reflects on an event that set her life on a completely different path then she ever imagined</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mitch Rapp/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I stood on the balcony of our private home watching the sun rise over the horizon in the distance. The crisp morning air blew my dark auburn hair to the side. The area was peaceful with only the sound of small native animals scurrying around. A smile graced my lips as I reflected on all the events that had made this moment possible. It all started 5 years ago when I went to study abroad in London with my good friend Elizabeth. We both had scholarships that covered our tuition to attend a law school in central London for 8 weeks over the summer. It was an amazing opportunity to meet other law students from the United States as well as abroad. We both had hoped that it would change our lives forever by giving us a competitive edge over our peers, but neither of us had expected that it would change my life the way it did. It had set in motion a series of events that went beyond even my wildest dreams. </p><p>~Five Years Ago~</p><p>	“Olivia come on or we are going to be late to class” Elizabeth yelled from the door to our small flat. </p><p>	“Going, going” I told her grabbing my backpack. “How are you so energetic if you were up all night?”</p><p>	“I took a nap before everyone got on” she replied as we walked to the tube. I just shook my head. My hair was tied up into a high bun with a Japanese hair stick holding it in place. The hair stick had a plastic elegant red and white flower on it. </p><p>	“I thought we had agreed that we were going to make an effort to dress nicely” I said looking over her outfit. She was wearing a black Adidas t-shirt, joggers and sneakers.</p><p>	“I’m lazy and you’ve seen how our classmates show up to class” she replied. I looked down at my own outfit. I was wearing a pair of high-waisted burgundy stretchy pants and a black knitted V-neck long sleeved shirt. The V-neck was not deep enough to show too much cleavage. I was also wearing fake leather boots that reached my calf. End of June in London was too cold for my standards. </p><p>	“Remind me why I let you drag me here” I told her as we waited on the platform for the tube. </p><p>	“Cause we agreed that it was a great networking opportunity” she replied. I rolled my eyes. </p><p>	“I could be enjoying warm weather and the beach right now” I mumbled. </p><p>	“Only three more weeks and then we’ll be returning to 90-degree weather” she said. </p><p>	“I can’t wait” I replied as we entered the train that had just arrive. We were staying three stops away from the school in order to make our commute easier.</p><p>	“Good Morning, John” I said with a wave greeting one of my classmates in my International Criminal Law course. He was from Syracuse University College of Law while my friend and I were from a law school in Manhattan. I also admitted that he was quite attractive, but I was taken at the moment. He nodded his head in my direction as a sign of greeting. I saw that he was wearing headphones, so I continued to talk to Elizabeth. “Did you do the reading for International law today?” I asked. </p><p>	“Yes, but I didn’t fully understand it. I understood the principals, but the cases are confusing” she replied. </p><p>	“International Tribunal decisions are written differently than U.S. Court decisions” I replied. “I’m finding it easier to understand the readings in my International Criminal Law and International Human Rights classes than the International Law class.” </p><p>	“My elective courses make more sense but the easiest for me is our Research class” she said as we approached our stop. </p><p>	“That one is a piece of cake” I replied as we left the train with some of our classmates. Our first class of the day was International Law which we had only with students from our law school. Our elective courses were mixed with the other students. We all showed security our respective school IDs that were checked against a master list every day. Elizabeth and I made our way to our classroom which was on the first floor. We were still 15 minutes early to class, so we left our books at our seats and went to the café in the basement to grab a coffee. The café wasn’t too crowded since a lot of students made coffee at home to save money or they waited for after lunch. The students who had money would normally buy their coffee from one of the small cafes that surrounded the school. Once we had our coffees, we returned to the room just in time for class to start. Everything seemed normal until the last few minutes of class when a bang rang out. “Gunshot” I asked Elizabeth for verification. She nodded her head, but before I could get anybody to hide the door to the classroom opened and three masked me with assault rifles entered. “Fuck” I cursed under my breath and went to call the British equivalent of 911 but had no single. I also noticed that my phone was no longer connected to the Wi-Fi. We were one of the first classrooms, so it wasn’t surprising how fast they managed to get here from the lobby. </p><p>	“Men in the back. Women in the front” one of the men said in English. He had a British accent. Home grown terrorist was the first thought that popped into my head. I filed that away for later not that it would be much help. Another one shot our professor in the shoulder when no one moved. That sent everyone scrambling to the locations that the first one had said. Elizabeth kneeled next to our professor and put pressure on the bullet wound. I looked at the three men. They were all wearing military grade ballistic vests. The one who was talking had a pistol strapped to his thigh while the other two had some sort of knife. My mind began to work a mile a minute to try to figure out a way to get out of here. “Everyone on the ground” the British one shouted. Everyone dropped but I remained standing. “I said on the ground” the British one said. I continued to stand there but said nothing. “Make her get on the ground and tie her up” he ordered the man who had shot the professor. Ok so he was the leader. That was good to know. The man walked closer to me. I continued to stand there calmly even though my heart was racing a mile a minute. I knew the risk that I was taking at the moment, but it was the only plan that my mind had come up with and I had to try something.  </p><p>	“What are you doing” Elizabeth hissed at me. I ignored her. I couldn’t afford the additional risk of them catching on. I had to do this. I had to protect them. The man was soon in front of me and reached out to grab me, but I reached forward and grabbed the knife. I quickly stabbed him in the groin with as much force as I could. He let out a bloodcurdling scream. I unclipped the strap for the assault rifle and shot the other two. I hit the British one in the throat right above his vest and the other one in the leg. The other one fired at me and the bullet grazed my side. Since all the women were laying on the floor, I was not worried that it had hit any of them. I fired at him again. This time it was a headshot. The one I had stabbed had passed out. I looked over at the women who were staring at me in shock and a bit of fear. </p><p>	“Stay here, I’m going to try and get us some help” I told them. </p><p>	“Olivia, your side” Elizabeth said. </p><p>	“It’s fine for now. He needs medical attention and we don’t know how many are out there. Our phones don’t have signal and they took down the Wi-Fi as well” I explained. I assumed that my side wasn’t badly injured since I wasn’t in pain. </p><p>	“I’ll go with you” James said. He had been in my section our first year and I knew that he was former military. I nodded towards him. </p><p>	“I’ll stay here and protect them” a woman who I didn’t really know said. I though her name was Nicole or something like that. “I’m former military so I know how to use the guns.” I nodded. </p><p>	“Ok lets also take their vests. It’ll give us extra protection.” I stated taking charge of the situation even though out of the three of us I had the least combat training.  I took the vest off the guy I had stabbed and put it on. In one of the compartments I found a large sticky gauze pad that I put on over the cut on my side from where the bullet had grazed me. I didn’t look at it as I covered it. I then tightened the vest on me. It squeezed my chest, but I ignored that. It would protect me from getting shot again. I also grabbed the sheath for the knife and strapped it to my own leg after I cleaned the blood off of it. I cleaned the blade on the guy’s shirt before zip tying his hands together. He might bleed out before we found help but I was not going to make the mistake of leaving him untied in a room full of innocent hostages. I looked over at James and Nicole who had taken the gear of the other two men. “Let’s go. Nicole try to lock or jam the door when we leave” I ordered. </p><p>	“Olivia be careful” Elizabeth called out with resignation knowing that she would not be able to talk me out of this. </p><p>	“I will” I replied trying to give her a reassuring smile which I knew did not ease her worry, but it was the best I could do. I left the room with James. I checked the right side of the hallway while James checked the left. “Let’s check next door” I whispered to him. I knew that next door was the classroom that was being used by Syracuse. I had my own personal reasons for checking next door, but it was also a tactical decision. They would have people covering the front entrance so it would make sense for us to try and find another way out and try to take out as many assailants as we could in the meantime.  He nodded and we walked down the hallway a bit to the next classroom. The door to the next room opened and James and I both pointed our guns at the man exiting the room. My first thought was that he was with the assailants. He pointed his gun at us. </p><p>	“Olivia” the man said in a deep voice that sounded semi familiar. He wasn’t wearing a bullet proof vest and had on jeans and a long sleeve black Henley. I gave him a confused look until I realized that it was John. I lowered my weapon and he did the same. James then lowered his gun after he realized that the man in front of us was on our side. I looked at John his eyes looked darker than normal and he had this calmness around him that did not seem to fit the situation that we were in. It was unnerving. He looked dangerous not like the chill and laidback guy I was used to in my classes. “How” he asked. </p><p>	“Later” I replied not wanted to dwell on what I had done especially in the middle of a clearly dangerous situation. “Let’s get out of this alive first.” His eyes seemed to darken even more. They were practically black instead of cinnamon brown. </p><p>	“You two should return to your room” he said with authority. </p><p>	“No” I replied shortly. My anger taking over at the thought that I was some weakling. “We can cover each other’s back this way.” I added trying to give a valid reason for my insistence on staying. </p><p>	He looked at me with an intense penetrating stare. He seemed to be looking for something and seems to have found it. “Fine but both of you listen to me” he said. I nodded. “You might kill people” he said in a softer tone not as soft as his usual tone but softer than the harsh tone he was using before. </p><p>	“Already have” I replied indifferently. He nodded and then lead the way to the next room. I could’ve sworn that I saw surprise flicker in his eyes before it was replaced by that deadly determined look. James cover the rear while I stood between them. We entered the next classroom and quickly killed the three assailants. I singled to the students in the room to stay quiet as we left the room. We continued down the hallway even though there were no more classrooms this way. </p><p>	“There is a service entrance this way that leads to a back alley. One of you can use it to get outside and call for help” John said as if sensing my confusion. I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. </p><p>	“I’ll call for help” James said. John killed the guy who was watching the service entrance and James slipped out. John and I then took the back staircase to the second floor. I covered his back as he led us to check the classrooms and killing any of assailants that we found while telling the students to remain quiet and hidden. I was suspicious at how comfortable John looked as we cleared the building. He moved with deadly grace taking out targets before they had the chance to fire their weapons at us. I knew that I was tense. My shots were hitting their marks, but I was slower than John. I was operating on autopilot as I followed John. We switched guns with two of the assailants we took down when we began to run low on bullets. We had just cleared the last room of assailants when the police arrived. I lowered my guard for a second in relief but in that second an assailant rounded the corner before I could even raise my gun again to shoot John had shot him. </p><p>	“Don’t lower your guard” John ordered harshly. </p><p>	“Sorry” I apologized. </p><p>	“It’s fine just don’t do it again” he said in a kinder tone. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve assumed that he was bipolar from the way he was switching from being harsh to being kind. Then again, I was starting to think that I knew nothing about the man who stood beside me. We then began to let people out of the classroom. The police would probably start on the lower floors and work their way up. We escorted the group of the 15 that were in the only occupied classroom on this floor down. John led them down using the staircase that we had used while I brought up the rear in case, we had missed any of the assailants. On the first floor we ran into the police.</p><p>	“Put your weapons down” someone ordered. I didn’t make a move and waited for John’s order cause my instincts were telling me that he knew what he was doing. That right now he was the only one I could trust. I did not know if the men in front of us were actually the police or more assailants dressed up like them. </p><p>	“Olivia, it’s ok you can put the gun down now” he said in the soft tone that I was used to from him. I immediately placed my gun on the floor and the knife next to it. “We are just students. We were trying to protect everyone since they cut off all communication” John told the police. The police seemed to believe him and escorted us out the front door. I on the other hand was having trouble believing that he was just a law student.  On the street there were at least 5 ambulances with more arriving and a bunch of cop cars. I scanned the area for Elizabeth. I saw James and Nicole talking to each other by one of the cop cars, so I knew that Elizabeth had to be somewhere around here. I finally found her. She was standing against the building across the street. I ran over to her not having to worry about traffic since the road was blocked by all the emergency vehicles.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>           “Olivia” Elizabeth called out once she saw me. She ran up to me and gave me a hug which was surprising since she wasn’t exactly the hugging type but then again trauma can change people.</p><p>            “I’m ok” I reassured her.</p><p>            “Your side, you need to get it checked out” she said.</p><p>            “It’s ok, the ambulances need to treat the professors first they were all shot. I think it was their way to ensure the student’s cooperation” I told her.</p><p>            “What’s wrong with your side” John said from behind me startling me since I had not heard him approach. Everything was loud with the paramedics and police running around trying to get the situation under control as more students were found and escorted out of the building. I turned around to face him. I had to look up to see his face since he was standing really close to me. He was at least 6 inches taller than me.</p><p>            “It’s nothing” I told him with a glare for him to drop it. I didn’t want to seem weak in front of him.</p><p>            “Your lying” he said unaffected by my glare.</p><p>            “I have a feeling you are too” I whispered not wanting anyone to overhear. If he was undercover or something, I didn’t want to be the one who made others suspicious of him. He ignored my comment.</p><p>            “Let me see your side. Your friend wouldn’t be worried about nothing” he said reaching out to remove the bulletproof vest from me. I gave in and let him and then rolled up my shirt to show him where the bullet had grazed my side. “That’s pretty bad for something you say is nothing” he teased. I glared at him again.</p><p>            “It’s minor. I got grazed by a bullet. I’ll survive” I said shortly not liking his teasing.</p><p>            “Not if you keep losing blood like that. You’ve already soaked the gauze you have covering it” he explained.</p><p>            “He’s right Olivia” Elizabeth said.</p><p>            “Fine take me to the paramedics” I sighed dropping my shirt to cover my side again knowing that if I was bleeding that badly then I should get it checked out. Both Elizabeth and John escorted me to one of the ambulances.</p><p>            “She has a gunshot wound on her side” John told the paramedic. They immediately put me on a gurney and lifted up my shirt. One of the paramedics removed the gauze.</p><p>            “That is going to need stitches” he said. I sighed. Guess it really was worse than I thought.  </p><p>            “Do you want something for the pain” the other asked.</p><p>            “It doesn’t hurt. I’m probably in shock if not then the adrenaline is keeping the pain away” I explained. I could see the paramedic looking at each other. I guess I should’ve been in pain despite the adrenaline.</p><p>            “We need to get you to the hospital. Only one of your friends can come with you” the first paramedic explained.</p><p>            “John, you go with her” I heard Elizabeth say. “Olivia you better text me when they’ve finished patching you up. I’ll bring you a new shirt.”</p><p>            “Ok. I will” I told her as the paramedics loaded me into the ambulance. “How bad is it?”</p><p>            “It’s a gunshot wound not just a graze” John answered. I briefly wondered how he knew what a gunshot wound looked like. Maybe he was former military like James and Nicole. That would explain what seemed like tactical training and how he knew what a bullet wound looked like.</p><p>            “Guess the bullet hit me more than I originally thought” I replied.</p><p>            “Can you apply pressure while my partner drives to the hospital?” one of the paramedics asked. I guess they wanted as many paramedics to stay on scene as possible.</p><p>            “Yes” John replied. We were then left alone in the back of the ambulance. I heard the sirens as we began to move.</p><p>            “Is it bad that I don’t feel guilty” I asked after a few minutes. Now that my body and mind were finally relaxing, I realized that I didn’t feel guilty which was worrying me. John’s head snapped to look at me. I looked at his cinnamon brown eyes that had now lightened to the color I was used to. His longish brown hair was messy with some of it falling forward to give him side bangs.  His hair and slight stubble gave him a sexy rugged look.</p><p>            “You need time to process” he said.</p><p>            “I kill people today. I stabbed a guy in the dick and shot multiple others, but I don’t feel guilty” I replied keeping my voice low. I didn’t want the driver to overhear and assume I was some cold-blooded killer or turning me over to the police.</p><p>            “What was going through your head” he asked me after a moment. I had probably shocked him. Though I was relieved that he wasn’t freaking out.</p><p>            “That I had to protect my classmates. That no matter what I needed to protect them. I needed to be strong so I could do whatever it took to protect them” I answered.</p><p>            “You might never feel guilty” he answered my original question after a moment of silence. “It’s sounds like you are rationalizing it.”</p><p>            “Maybe. I know one thing for sure though” I said. He gave me curious look. “I would do it again. Everything that just happened I would do again if it meant that I could save innocent people from dying.”</p><p>            “Not everyone would” he replied.</p><p>            “Would you” I asked.</p><p>            “Yes” he said looking into my eyes. His eyes had darkened again, and I had a feeling that this wasn’t the first time he had killed. I smiled at him as the doors to the ambulance flung opened and I was rushed into the ER. I lost John in the mess of people. I must’ve pass out because the next thing I knew Elizabeth was sitting next to me.</p><p>            “You ok” I asked her startling her from whatever she was doing on her computer.</p><p>            “I should be asking you that” she replied. I looked at the ceiling. I could feel the gunshot wound on my side. It stung but not as much as I was expecting it to. I looked at the IV pool and notice the morphine drip.</p><p>            “Am I on morphine” I asked Elizabeth.</p><p>            “The Doctor said that it is there if you need it, but they didn’t want to give it to you while you were unconscious” she explained. “Are you ok?” I could tell that she was worried about me.</p><p>            “Yeah” I replied.</p><p>            “That didn’t sound convincing” she stated.</p><p>            “My side stings but it’s not terrible pain. Psychologically I don’t know yet” I told her. “How long was I out for?”</p><p>            “A few hours. John left as soon as I arrived” she explained. I nodded. The nurses came in to check me out and told me to get plenty of rest. I stayed in the hospital for two days. Elizabeth had managed to Skype my mom and brother, so they knew that I was ok. I had messaged the rest of my friends and boyfriend. The program had been cut short so as soon as I was released, we would be trying to fly home. John didn’t return to visit me. I was a bit disappointed. Maybe I had scared him off. Maybe he thought I was some sort of heartless killer but then I remembered how comfortable he looked with a gun in his hands and how he didn’t even blink as we took out the assailants. I thought about our time in the ambulance. Judging by his behavior he didn’t seem like he thought I was some murder. If anything, it seemed like he was attempting to comfort me. I returned with Elizabeth to our temporary flat. The doctors had told me how to care for the wound and to go in a week to a doctor to have the stitches removed. The bullet had hit my side leaving a deep laceration. Luckily, it had not hit any major organs. The doctors had warned me that it would take a long time to heal both physically and psychologically from the trauma.</p><p>            “I’m going to get my laptop from my bedroom” I told Elizabeth walking into my bedroom. I went to grab my laptop from the desk when I noticed a yellow 8 by 11 envelope on my bed. “Liz did you put an envelope on my bed” I asked her.</p><p>            “No” she said walking into the room. I sat on my bed and carefully picked up the envelope. Olivia was written on the envelope in slightly familiar writing. I opened the envelope and pulled out three sheets of paper and a shell casing on a leather cord. The leather cord went through the shell casing and I could see knots on either side of the casing holding it in place. “Is that an actual shell casing?” Elizabeth asked.</p><p>            “Yeah it’s a 5.56 NATO. The caliber used in the AR-15” I stated slowly as my mind tried to piece everything together.</p><p>            “The shooters were using AR-15s” Elizabeth stated catching up to my train of thought. I nodded. Elizabeth had worked at a security company with loads of retire law enforcement personal which had taught her about guns while I had gone shooting in the past to try and improve my aim with different types of guns including assault rifles. I place the shell casing down next to me and grabbed the three pieces of paper. The first one was a handwritten letter dated yesterday.</p><p>
  <em>Olivia, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            By the time you read this letter I will already have left the country. I did not visit you again because I wanted to give you time to process everything that happened. It is perfectly fine if you never feel guilty for taking their lives. Some may even say that they deserved it. You know that if we didn’t take matters into our own hands then they could have killed us all. It is also natural for you to feel guilty and even regret what we did. I will never judge you no matter how you feel about the situation. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            I don’t know if I will ever see you again, but I wanted to leave you that shell casing as a reminder that you are strong. Not a lot of people would be able to do what you did without training. Yes, I know that you’ve never been formally trained to handle situations like that. I’m sure that the doctors have told you that it is going to be a long road to recovery. You may never be the same, but I hope that the shell casing will be able to serve as a reminder of your strength and of the lives you helped save. I never thought that I would write this, but I am grateful that you were my backup.  In case you don’t know the shell casing is from the bullet of the gun you were using. I picked it up from the last classroom we cleared.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            I also took it upon myself to reschedule flights for you and Elizabeth so the both of you can return to the U.S. earlier. I’m sure your family is anxious for you to return home. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>                                                            Stay Safe,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>                                                            John</em>
</p><p>I looked at the other two pieces of paper which were boarding pass for a flight leaving tomorrow night.</p><p>            “What is it” Elizabeth asked. I showed her the two boarding passes. I wanted to keep the letter a secret for now. I wasn’t sure how she would react knowing that I didn’t feel remorse. It wasn’t like I was incapable of feeling remorse I just wasn’t remorseful for what happened. “How?”</p><p>            “John rescheduled our flights somehow” I told her. “We should start packing.” She seemed surprised.</p><p>            “I didn’t know that you two were that close” she said. I stared at the wall in front of me.</p><p>            “We aren’t” I replied. I grabbed the shell casing and tied the leather cord around my neck.</p><p>            “Olivia you can tell me anything. You know I would never judge you” she said. She always knew when there was something on my mind. We sat there in silence for a few minutes. I felt her get up and heard her go to walk out of the room.</p><p>            “I don’t feel remorse or regret it” I said my voice barely above a whisper. I played with the necklace as I waited for her to reply. “It was their lives or ours and I picked ours. I would do it all over again. What kind of person does that make me?” I continued voicing the thoughts that had been plaguing my mind.</p><p>            “The kind that wants to protect the innocent” she said walking back over to the bed. “You’re not a bad person. Is every cop that shoots someone a bad person? Is the military comprised of only bad people? The answer is no. They are people who are trying to protect others. I know that you could never be a cold-blooded murder, but I also know that you will go to great lengths to protect others. You give money to the homeless. You donate to charity when you can. You are an amazing and kindhearted individual who can be a badass if needed.” I looked down at the letter again before handing it over to her. I continued to play with the necklace as she read the letter. “Did you tell him that you were never in the military or law enforcement?” She asked once she finished reading.</p><p>            “No besides classwork we barely ever spoke” I explained.</p><p>            “Then how does he know that you have no formal training” she asked.</p><p>            “I don’t know but I think he does have some type of formal training. He was too calm and familiar with what we were doing. Almost like he’s done it before. He didn’t even blink as they dropped to ground dead” I explained. “Come on we really should pack so we can catch our flight tomorrow.” I said standing up from the bed. Elizabeth also stood up and left the room. I took out my suitcases and began to pack. I noticed that Elizabeth had left the letter on my bed. I folded it and placed in in my carryon with my passport and new boarding pass. I packed about half of my stuff before my side began to hurt too much and I had to stop. We ordered dinner and went to bed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>          I began having occasional nightmares after we returned to the United States. Nightmares in which I had failed my classmates; in which they all died, and I was powerless to stop them. The necklace helped center me when I woke up. It helped me remember that was not the case and I did help save them, but I still felt weak. I knew that I was overweight ,and  while my shots had been accurate that day, I was not confident that it would always be the case. I knew that I had to change, and I have to push myself to be better. I had to prove to myself that I could always be that strong not just in a crisis. I started off walking at least four miles a day since the laceration on my side still needed time to heal. Once my side healed, I switched from walking to jogging part of the route until I could jog the entire route, then I began to run. I lost some of the fat and gained muscles in my legs. I also went a few times with my brother to the shooting range. The sound of the guns firing scared me, but I knew that I had to get over it. At first it would give me flashbacks of that day in London, but I pushed passed them. I would rely on those memories as motivation. They would not hinder me. I was determined to always be as strong or even stronger than I was that day. I learned to focus on just feeling the gun and aiming. I stopped consciously calculating recoil and my shots improved to the point that I was besting my brother who had always been better than me. My mom and brother knew that something had changed, but neither of them knew what. I never told them that I had killed. Though I suspected that my brother knew. He often eyed my necklace suspiciously, but never asked questions about it, and neither did my mom. I hid the PTSD from them as much as possible. They didn’t know about the nightmares or how I was suspicious of everyone around me. They didn’t see how I tensed up when someone got to close or how I was always hyperaware of my surroundings. I did not want them to worry about me. I had changed so much that I broke up my boyfriend of almost two years. He had once been my everything, but he wasn’t there for me when I really needed him. I now knew that I had to rely on myself. As time passed, I realized that he was no longer able understand me and who I am now. He was innocent and almost childlike while I am now callous and even cold sometimes.</p><p>          I had given up on meeting John again when the summer had passed without hearing from him. We had exchanged email addresses, but when I tried to reach out to him it just bounced back as undeliverable. Somedays I even wondered if he was a figment of my imagination, but his letter and the necklace that I never took off told me that he was very much real. That he wasn’t just someone my mind made up to help me deal with the guilt of not feeling guilty. It was my first day back to school and I was at my locker when I heard someone call out my name. I quickly turned around and almost smacked straight into a guy’s chest. It surprised me that he had managed to sneak up on me especially since the locker room floor creaked horribly and my hypersensitivity had made me awfully aware of my surrounding. I looked up and was met with familiar cinnamon brown eyes, wavy longish brown hair and five o’clock shadow.</p><p>            “Sorry I shouldn’t have stood so close” he said taking a small step back to put some distance between us.</p><p>            “John, what are you doing here” I asked him more surprised than anything.</p><p>            “I transferred. There are more job opportunities here” he replied. I gave him a raised eyebrow to show him that I didn’t believe him. I knew for sure that there was more to him than a laid-back law student. He smiled innocently at me. “You look good” he complemented me. I looked down at the outfit that I was wearing. I was wearing a pair of black capri’s that looked like slacks and a fitted purple cowl neckline tank top. My necklace was clearly visible if you looked at my upper chest.</p><p>            “I’ve been training” I replied. His eyes darkened for a moment before returning to their natural color.</p><p>            “For what” he asked.</p><p>            “I want to always be strong and to reassure myself that what happened wasn’t just a fluke” I replied. I was glad that the locker room was empty at this time since the students who had a 9 am class were already in class and those who started at 11 had yet to arrive. The entire school had not been made aware of what happened in London. I didn’t want anyone to know because I did not want to be treated like I was something that was fragile and could break at any moment.  </p><p>            “You actually wear it” he said sounding surprised. I then realized that I had unconsciously grabbed the shell casing drawing attention to it. I nodded. “I can train you. I know a thing or two about martial arts and physical training.”</p><p>            “I have a feeling you know a lot more than a thing to two about that. You don’t get that type of muscle mass from watching tv” I replied reaching out to grab his bicep. He was built but it was all lean muscle. He laughed. It was a deep and beautiful sound. I knew that I wanted to make him laugh like that again. I had heard him laugh with our classmates before, but it always sounded forced and fake. I knew that this must be his real laugh. “I would love for you to train me” I said dropping my hand.</p><p>            “Let me see your schedule then so we can work something out” he replied. I pulled out my phone and pulled up my schedule before handing it to him. I finished with my locker as he looked at my schedule. “We seem to have a lot of classes together. We can train in the morning before classes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Wednesdays and Fridays, we are both free until the evening so we can do longer training on those days and then you can rest or train by yourself on the weekends” he said.</p><p>            “That sounds great” I replied.</p><p>            “How is your side” he asked.</p><p>            “Almost completely healed” I replied. “The doctor cleared me for physical activity.”</p><p>            We soon fell into a routine. I signed up for a gym that had a location near his apartment in Manhattan and one in New Jersey where I lived. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we would go to the gym and run and then do strength training. We would then shower at the gym before heading to school where we would meet up with Elizabeth for lunch. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays he would teach me Martial Arts. He had found another gym by his place that we could use to practice Martial Arts. First, he began by teaching me some basic moves and once he was sure that I had mastered them we began to spar so I could learn how to combine them in a real fight. At first, I was constantly getting my ass handed to me because he was strong and fast, but I eventually start to improve and had managed to beat him a few times. Every time I felt that we were close to the same level he would become stronger and faster. He was also extremely strict about not leaving myself open for fatal attacks. Anytime I would accidently leave myself open he would make me do a set number of pushups and increase that amount by 5 for every subsequent opening in that session. The few times he had left a fatal opening he would also do the pushups. Wednesdays and Fridays, we would study for a few hours in the afternoon so we could keep our grades up.  On the weekends I would go for runs to try and help build up my endurance. I would also go shooting with my brother and even invited John a few times. He would give both my brother and I pointers which made me more suspicious. I was positive that he was hiding something big. My brother got along well with him and had even invited him to his graduation. My mom seemed to think that John and I were a couple since we spent so much time together, but we weren’t dating even despite all the time we had spent together I felt like I rarely got to know him. Sure, I got to know his fighting style, but personal information was hard to come by. I had found out that he was four years older than me and his birthday was March 28<sup>th</sup> but that was about it. He was great at defecting personal questions or giving me answers that I knew were not true. We continued this schedule all throughout our second year of law and the fall semester of our third year sometimes having to adjust due to our classes. Everything changed  in the spring semester. The semester started off the same as the prior one until one day in late February.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            “I need to start working out if I’m going to keep hanging out with you two” Elizabeth complained as we sat down in our Bar Prep class.</p><p>            “Why” I asked taking my seat between her and John.</p><p>            “Both of you are all lean muscle and I’m chubby” she said.</p><p>            “Maybe if you didn’t drink so much soda” I teased. She loved her Coke.</p><p>            “You eat cookies like every day” she retorted.</p><p>            “I work out 7 days a week. He’s a drill sergeant” I replied. She knew that I had been working out with John and was on my case to just ask him out already. She knew that I had a crush on him since before everything that happened in London, but also knew that I was too shy to ask him out. Our professor then entered the room and began to teach. About halfway through class, John got a call and walked out to take it. I tried to focus on class, but I was nervous for some reason. I had felt John tense next to me when he saw who had called him. John had just entered the room again when a gunshot rang out. ‘Again’ I thought to myself. Some people stayed paralyzed in fear while others immediately began to secure the room like we had been taught to in our active shooter training. Elizabeth and I helped herd everyone to the corner while John turned off the lights. Hopefully, the shooter would just think this was an empty classroom. After I made sure that everyone was hidden, I went to hid under one of the tables that we used as desks. It had a waterfall edge so we wouldn’t be seen. John joined me.</p><p>            “They’re after us” he whispered to me so the others couldn’t hear. I looked over at him. “They want revenge for what happened in London almost two years ago.” He elaborated. I didn’t ask how he knew this information but had a feeling that whoever had called him told him.</p><p>            “Then wouldn’t they be after James too” I whispered back.</p><p>            “You and I took out most of them” he replied. I nodded my hand unconsciously grabbing the necklace. I tucked it under the burgundy fleece shirt I was wearing. “The police have been notified so we just have to hold them off” he said still whispering.</p><p>            “Do they know we are here” I asked.</p><p>            “Probably. They hacked into the school’s computer system.” he replied. At that moment someone tried to open the door but couldn’t since we had reinforced it with some belts.</p><p>            “Johnathan Richardson and Olivia Erin Ruiz, we know you are in there. Surrender and we won’t have to take drastic measures” a man said in heavily accented English.</p><p>            “Do I want to know what drastic measures means” I whispered.</p><p>            “They will start killing people” John answered. My amber eyes narrowed into a glare.</p><p>            “Think we can take them” I asked him.</p><p>            “We don’t know how many there are and we are unarmed” he replied. I gave him a are you kidding me look. I knew that he was downplaying his skills. He had shown me how to kill with my bare hands sure it was difficult but as long as we could get a gun away from at least one of them we would have a weapon. I tied my hair up so it would be out of the way. He nodded knowing that I was really going to go through with this. “You listen to my orders. Try to incapacitate them.” he stated. I nodded.</p><p>            “What are you two doing” Elizabeth whispered.</p><p>            “Holding them off until the police get here. It shouldn’t be long they’ve already been called” I replied. She looked like she was about to protest before she just sighed in resignation.</p><p>            “Be careful the both of you” she replied. She had easily accepted John into our friendship despite also having her own suspicions about him. We nodded before sneaking out the back door. That door was only allowed to open from the classroom, so we had not reinforced it. The door opened up to the staircase. We walked up to where the door that let to the hallway was. We could hear them talking in Arabic. I looked at John in hopes that he would give me some indication that he knew what they were saying. I knew that he was fluent in it. It was one of the few facts that I learned about him that I suspected was real besides his age. He motioned for me to hide in the corner as he opened the door and put the guy closest to the door in a choke hold and pulled him into the stairwell. As soon as the door closed behind him bullets hit the door. John knocked the guy out with his own assault rifle before giving it to me and taking the guy’s pistol for himself. The gun fire paused, and we took the opportunity to open the door and return our own shots. I hit one of the three remaining guys in both arms while John took care of the other two. I walked over to the guy that I had shot and smacked him over the head with the butt of the assault rifle and knocked him out. The police rounded the corner as I was going to help John with the last guy. The guy lowered his gun and fell to the floor when he realized that he was trapped between John and I and the police. John and I also dropped our weapons.</p><p>            “Johnathan Richardson and Olivia Erin Ruiz” one of the police officers asked.</p><p>            “Yes” I replied.</p><p>            “We have the two they are targeting clear the rest of the building” the officer said into the radio.</p><p>            “Can I let my classmates out” I asked them. The police officer nodded. I pulled out my phone and texted Elizabeth that the coast was clear, and everyone could leave the room. After a few minutes, the students began to emerge from the room with their bags. James handed John his while Elizabeth gave me mine. The police then escorted us out.</p><p>            “Did she get hit” Elizabeth asked John as we took the stairs down to the lobby.</p><p>            “No” John replied.</p><p>            “You could’ve asked me” I told her.</p><p>            “You like to pretend your not hurt” she replied. “Remember the supposedly minor graze that turned out to be gunshot wound and caused you to pass out.” I rolled my eyes. She would never let me live down what happed in London. We were escorted out of the building. The street was closed off and there were tons of emergency vehicles but what caught my eye was a plain black SUV. A woman got out of the vehicle and walked towards us.</p><p>            “Olivia, John” she greeted. I didn’t know her. “If you could please come with me.”</p><p>            “Why” I asked. I had just found out that people were after me and now this stranger wanted me to go with her. I saw her look at John. Did John know her?</p><p>            “Irene just show her your badge. She just found out that people are after her of course she is going to be suspicious of you” he said sounding annoyed. The lady in front of me who I assumed was Irene pulled out her ID which stated that she was the Director of Counterterrorism for the CIA. “You can trust her” John said placing a hand on my back.</p><p>            “I’ll see you soon” I told Elizabeth who was still by us. The other students had gone to the Starbucks or other locations. She knew as I did that there was a good chance that I was going into protective custody for the foreseeable future. She gave me a goodbye hug which I returned before following Irene and John to the black SUV. I hoped that I would be able to message her. John and I got into the backseat while Irene got into the passenger seat. “Now what? Protective custody?” I asked.</p><p>            “Yes, the both of you will be going into protective custody” Irene replied.</p><p>            “Why am I going into protective custody?” John asked. Why would he even ask that? He was being targeted as well.</p><p>            “Cause you and Stan are doing the protecting” she replied.</p><p>            “So, you’re CIA” I said looking at him. Now it made sense why he asked about going into protective custody. “That’s what you’ve been hiding all this time.” Before anyone could comment on my comment, I realized something. “What about my family? These guys know my full name what’s to say they haven’t figured out my family. I live at home so it would be on the school records” I could tell that I was starting to panic but then I felt John’s hand grab mine.</p><p>            “That’s been taken care of” Irene said. “Your grandparents, mother and brother are being taken to the safe house as well. Mitch and Stan will be staying with you to keep you safe and other agents will be in the surrounding areas until we figure out more about these guys and eliminate the threat.”</p><p>            “Thank you. So, your real name is Mitch not John” I said. I was thankful that my family was also being put into protective custody.</p><p>            “I thought you would react worse to the news that everything was a lie” he replied.</p><p>            “Not everything was a lie. I knew you were hiding something since London. You were too comfortable in a high stress situation. Your movements had a sense of familiarity as if you had done them hundreds of time before. You broke into my apartment to leave me the boarding passes and necklace without Elizabeth and I being able to figure out how. Then you started training with me. Yeah you tried to downplay your skill but as I got strong so did you. I could also tell when you were being truthful with your answers or BSing me. I knew you had your reasons, so I didn’t pry” I replied. He chuckled.</p><p>            “I underestimated your observation skills” he stated.</p><p>            “It’s a long ride you two can get to know each other in the meantime. Mitch you don’t have to hide anything from her” Irene said from the front.</p><p>            “So, Mitch” I said his name sounded foreign on my tongue since I had known him as John for the last two years. “What’s your full name and title?” He looked at Irene who just nodded.</p><p>            “Mitch Rapp, I’m on a black-ops unit as an assassin” he replied. He seemed tense and I then I realized that he was expecting me to react violently which would probably have been a normal reaction to finding out that the person next to you killed people for a living.</p><p>            “I’m not all that surprised” I replied. I could tell that I had surprised him. “You were talking about yourself when you said in that letter in London that some people might even say that they deserve it.” He nodded. “I think it would be hypocritical of me to hate you for being an assassin when I agree with that statement. I never did end up feeling guilty for what happened in London. I felt guilty for not feeling guilty for a while, but I got over it.” We had never revisited the conversation we had in the ambulance before.</p><p>            “I actually have a question for you Olivia. How much of your psych assessment is fake?” Irene asked.</p><p>            “Why am I not surprised that you’ve pulled all my records” I sighed. “A good portion of it is BS. I’m sure you already know that I have a degree in Psychology which helped me to lie about my answers so I would be cleared but not to the extent that my answers would be suspicious.” She seemed to be contemplating my answer.</p><p>            “So, it seems like we are stuck together for the foreseeable future. I’m sure protective details aren’t your normal missions” I said to Mitch.</p><p>            “This would be the first one” he confirmed. That made me slightly suspicious. Why put an assassin on a protection detail. Mitch sighed next to me as if reading my mind. “I have no idea why she assigned me this. You will have to ask her, and she won’t give you an answer.”</p><p>            “That’s fine. I waited two years to figure out what you were hiding I can wait to figure out why you are on my protection detail. I think for now though I’m going to try to sleep. The nightmares kept me up last night” I said curling up in my seat facing Mitch. He knew I had nightmares and suffered from PTSD but not the full extent of it. No one but I knew just how bad it was affecting me. He hadn’t let go of my hand from earlier. I didn’t mind it, so I didn’t say anything as I drifted off into a light sleep. It was more of a meditative state since I was still hyper aware of my surroundings, but my breathing and heart rate had evened out as if I was asleep.  </p><p>            “Why are Stan and I on the protection detail” I heard Mitch ask while I was half asleep. Stan must also be part of the black-ops unit if Mitch was asking about him as well. No one answered for a few minutes.</p><p>            “Because you are the only one who she trusts, and I want Stan’s opinion on possibly recruiting her. I’ve been watching her progress since London. She’s been pushing herself. She didn’t even take a full week to try and recover before she began walking four miles a day. She wasn’t cleared for physical activity and yet she was jogging and even running that distance. You’ve been training her. She has injuries to both her shoulders and ankles but yet she’s pushed pass them to keep up with your training. She managed to fool one of our best Psychiatrist into believe that she only had a minor case of PTSD which I have a feeling you know is false.” I heard Irene say. They both must think that I am fully asleep. It surprised me a bit to learn that I was being monitored since then. I guess I must’ve caught their eye since I kept up with one of their assassins even though I’m positive that I had slowed Mitch down that day.</p><p>            “How do you even know that she would want this” Mitch asked.</p><p>            “She sat for the Civil Service test in New Jersey to try and be a police officer. She also applied for an internship at the FBI. Her thesis was on the Psychological Effects of Terrorism. I have no doubt that if it wasn’t because of her physical limitations back then she would be in law enforcement by now maybe even in JTTF. I haven’t decided yet, but I know that she is going to need someone she trusts while the CIA continues to search for these guys. It’s not healthy for her to bottle up all her emotions like she is doing currently” Irene replied.</p><p>            “Her family doesn’t know that she killed people in London” Mitch said. I had told him that one day when he had asked me who really knew what happened in London after I had told him about the nightmares. “They don’t know about the nightmares. She’s been hiding it from them. How are we going to explain all this and keep them in the dark?”</p><p>            “She might have to tell them. I’m sure her family is going to have a lot of questions about why they are being put in protective custody” Irene replied. I felt Mitch tighten his hold on my hand which made me realize that he knew that he never let go of my hand. Everyone was silent in the car after that. I processed what I had overheard. The CIA was looking into me as a possible recruit and from Mitch’s reaction it seemed like it would be for the same black-ops unit as him. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.</p><p>            “I know you’re not actually asleep. Get some rest” Mitch whispered into my ear. He wanted me to hear all that. I didn’t know if he knew before this that I was being recruited, but I did know that he wanted me to have my answers. Maybe this was a turning point in our relationship, one that meant we would stop keeping important secrets from each other.  I squeezed his hand in response before actually fully falling asleep. I woke up a few hours later to Mitch gently shaking me. It was now night.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>           “Where are we” I asked groggily.</p><p>            “The safehouse” Mitch replied.</p><p>            “Pennsylvania” Irene said from the front seat. We then got out of the SUV. The driver stayed behind as Irene led us to a brick ranch that had a wooden porch. I noticed a window on the roof, so I assumed that the attic had been converted. Irene knocked on the front door which I noticed had a peephole and an older man opened the door.</p><p>            “So, this is the girl causing so much trouble” the man said.</p><p>            “Stan, Olivia” Irene introduced us.</p><p>            “Come on in. Your mother is driving me nuts. She’s worried about you and wants to know why the hell they’re here” he said moving out of the way so Mitch and I could enter. Irene returned to the SUV. I tensed when Stan said that she wanted to know why she was here. How was I supposed to explain that some terrorist group was after me because I managed to take down a bunch of their members? I felt Mitch rest his hand on my lower back under my backpack.</p><p>            “It’ll be ok” he said trying to comfort me. I nodded slowly and walked further into the house. There were two sofas, a recliner and a TV over a stone fireplace on the right side of the large room we walked into to. On the left there was a dining room table and directly in front of us was the kitchen where my mom and grandmother seemed to be cooking. My grandfather was sitting in the recliner watching TV. I knew that my brother must be around somewhere. The home had a rustic feel to it.</p><p>            “Olivia” my mom said running over to me still holding the knife she had been using to cut some vegetables. I instinctively took the knife away from her as she pulled me into a hug. I felt Mitch take the knife from me and over my mom’s head I saw Stan look at him. I couldn’t figure out what the look meant. I remember that Irene had told Mitch that Stan would be evaluating me. Had I passed or failed something already? “These CIA agents came to my job and escorted me home to pack clothes for us. They also got mom and dad. They had a van that was ready for a wheelchair and then they brought us here but haven’t told us anything other than we were being put in protective custody and that you would meet us here. Stan is going to be our protection in the house with some guy named Mitch who hasn’t arrived yet.”</p><p>            “Mom calm down. Everything is going to be ok” I told her not letting go of her. I knew that she had worked herself into a panic.</p><p>            “Olivia why are we here” she asked me stepping out of the hug.</p><p>            “For protection” I replied.</p><p>            “Why” she asked.</p><p>            “Why do you think I know the reason” I replied. I sighed. I knew that this confrontation was inevitable, but I was hoping to have more time to come up with a response.</p><p>            “Because your too calm. You are being put in protective custody and you’re not panicking” she said.</p><p>            “Because someone is after me” I finally said.</p><p>            “Someone who is on the CIA’s radar is after you. Why? What did you do?” she asked. My nerves were getting the better of me. How was I supposed to answer her? I took off my backpack and placed it on the ground to try and buy myself some time.</p><p>            “Dinner smells delicious is it almost done?” I asked trying to distract her.</p><p>            “Olivia tell me” she demanded. I gulped. I could take down armed men and not be afraid but yet I was still terrified of my mother who was a whole 5 feet tall and barely 135 pounds. Mitch’s hand was still resting lightly on my back trying to give me some comfort while not getting involved.</p><p>            “They want revenge for the people I killed in London. When they attacked the school in London, I didn’t just standby and pray for help like you believe. I took matters into my own hands. I disarmed and killed the three assailants who tried to take over my classroom and then with help killed the rest of the assailants to try and protect my classmates. It was us or them and I choose us. And if I was ever put into the same position again, I will always choose us. I don’t regret what I did that day. I apologize for not thinking that it would come back and bite me in the ass later and for dragging all of you with me.” I said in a rush. I could tell that she was disappointed. She pushed me and I let her.</p><p>            “You killed people and because of that we are in danger. We are stuck in the middle of nowhere because of you. My parents may be spending there last days on Earth cooped up in a strange new place because you couldn’t just be patient and wait for professional help to arrive” she yelled at me. “I don’t even recognize you anymore. What happened to my daughter who always saw the good in people and wanted to save everyone? You are not her.”</p><p>            “I am. I just learned that not everyone is worth saving and to save the innocent sometimes you have to get rid of the evil ones” I yelled back before turning around and running outside.</p><p>            “Olivia” I heard my mom yell.</p><p>            “I think some time apart will be good for you guys. Mitch go after her” I heard Stan say before I had run out of hearing range. My mom would now know that John wasn’t really John but was a CIA operative named Mitch and was here to protect us. I collapsed crying against one of the trees at the edge of the clearing were the house was located. Mitch soon sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He pulled me against his side as I continued to cry. We sat there in silence beside an occasional sob from me. I heard footsteps approaching us and snapped my head up to see who was approaching us. I was more tense and hyperaware than before because I knew that people were after me.</p><p>            “Dinner is ready” my grandma said in Spanish. “Your mom told me what happened. I understand that you were just trying to save yourself and your classmates. I don’t believe that what you did is the right thing, but I understand. She’ll understand too. She just needs some time.” She continued.</p><p>            “Thank you” I replied in Spanish.</p><p>            “Now let’s go eat. Tell that handsome man that dinner is ready.” She said in Spanish. I chuckled at that as I pulled away from Mitch and stood up. Mitch also stood up as my grandma began to walk towards the house.</p><p>            “I understood some of that but you’re going to need to translate it” he said as we walked back to the house.</p><p>            “She said that she understands that I was trying to protect myself and our classmates. She doesn’t condone it, but she understands and that my mom will to in time. She also called you handsome.” I summarized.</p><p>            “You don’t think I’m handsome” he asked jokingly. He must’ve picked up that that was what caused me to laugh.</p><p>            “Maybe, maybe not you will have to figure that out yourself” I teased back. I felt lighter now that mostly everything was out in the open and at least my grandma didn’t hate me. I really hoped that my mom never asked me if I felt guilty for killing them because I she would surely hate me. Mitch and I reentered the house and served ourselves plates from the food that was on the island in the kitchen. My grandma and mom had made loaded mash potatoes, fried chicken and shrimp and white rice. We then walked over to the table. My mom had chosen to sit between my brother and my grandfather who was at head of the table. Stan was at the other head and Mitch took the seat next to him while I sat in between Mitch and my grandma. Dinner was tense. No one really spoke.</p><p>            “We need to discuss sleeping arrangements. There are only 4 bedrooms. The master and two more are on this floor and the last one is in the converted attic” Stan said once we had mostly finished eating.  </p><p>            “My grandparents should get the master” I said.</p><p>            “The master is the one with the queen bed and large standup shower” my brother asked. He must’ve explored the house.</p><p>            “Yes” Stan confirmed.</p><p>            “Then I agree with my sister” my brother said. My mom also nodded her head in agreement.</p><p>            “Ok so now how are we going to split the other three rooms” Stan asked.</p><p>            “I will share with my son” my mom said not looking at me. I could tell from the tone of her voice that she was still mad at me.</p><p>            “Mitch and I can share a room” Stan said.</p><p>            “If its ok with you, can I share with Mitch” I asked looking at the table. I could feel surprised stares on me now. I didn’t want to explain my reasoning.</p><p>            “I’ll share with Oliva. We will take the room in the attic” Mitch said.</p><p>            “Ok that room has two full size beds in it already. Looks like I’m down here with the rest of you guys” Stan said. Mitch, Stan, my brother and I put away the leftovers and cleaned up while my mom helped my grandparents settle into their new room. “Irene gave me permission to give you two guns” Stan whispered while pointing to my brother and me. “After we finish up here, I’m going to show both of you the armory. I’ll give you guys the passcode so if anything happens you can get weapons.” Stan continued. I was confused as to why we would be allowed to use the armory but finished the dishes without saying anything. Once everything was put away Stan led us down to the basement on one side of the basement there was a computer set up.</p><p>            “We have internet here” my brother said.</p><p>            “This safehouse isn’t completely off the grid so that you guys could keep up with your schoolwork. Both schools will be told that you are sick, but you will be able to attend classes online. You’ll also get to keep your cell phones but they are constantly being monitored by the CIA so if they try to trace them the CIA can find out where they are” Stan replied leading us to a door on the opposite wall. He put in the passcode making sure we all memorized it before opening the door to a large storage room full ammo and weapons. “Pick a pistol to carry with you. If we are under attack, we will be able to retrieve more fire power” Stan ordered opening a drawer. I selected a Glock 19 from the drawer that held all the pistols. I checked the magazine to make sure it was fully loaded. Mitch gave me a spare magazine that was also fully loaded.</p><p>            “Thank you” I told him. “Stan, why are my brother and I allowed to carry?” I asked the question that had been on my mind since the kitchen.</p><p>            “Because the more people we have armed that are marksmen or almost marksmen, then the better our chances of survival are if something happens. We have to discuss plans as well. For now, the main one will be that Mitch and I will check out any threats while the both of you stay in the house.” Stan replied.</p><p>            “Nick, if anything happens, I want you to get the get mom, grandma and grandpa in one room and protect them. I will guard the front door so if anyone sneaks pass Mitch and Stan then I can get them before they get to you guys.” I told my brother. Nick nodded. Once upon a time Nick would’ve argued with me about how he was the better shooter but that was no longer true. He also knew that I was better at hand to hand combat than him and I knew that he suspected that I knew more about battle strategies than I let on. I didn’t know if my mom had told him about what I did in London before dinner.</p><p>            “Well then let’s all get settled in. It’s been a long day” Stan said. We left the armory. Nick had grabbed an ankle holster for his pistol. While Stan, Mitch and I opted to hid them in the waistband of our pants against our lower backs. I double checked to make sure the safety was on before putting it there. Nick went to the computer as Stan, Mitch and I climbed the stairs back to the main level. In the hallway that lead to bedrooms and staircase to the attic I noticed two duffle bags on the floor. I recognized the light blue one as mine. “I got you some clothes from your room, Mitch” Stan said. I guess my mom must’ve packed mine before they left. I grabbed my backpack from the front door and then grabbed the light blue duffle bag before walking up the staircase to the attic. I turned on the light to the attic turned bedroom. The bedroom in the attic was large. It had two full size beds, one on each side of the window. Each bed had a nightstand next to it with a lamp.  There was a desk on the far wall. I dropped my bags on the floor by the far bed and went to explore the bathroom. There was a hallway leading to the bathroom. On each side there were barn doors which when I opened, I had found two identical closets. The closets had drawers on one side and hangers on the other. There was a claw foot tub against one of the walls where the roof was sloping down. Across from the tub was a double vanity. The large walk in shower was by the tub and on the back wall had the toilet which was near the vanity in the corner.</p><p>            “This is the biggest bathroom I’ve seen” I heard from behind me and quickly turned around throwing a punch instinctively. Mitch blocked my punch easily.</p><p>            “You scared me. I didn’t even hear you come up” I told him.</p><p>            “It makes it easier to kill someone when they don’t hear your footsteps” he said letting go of my arm.</p><p>            “I guess you’re done hiding your skills now” I told him.</p><p>            “I don’t need to hide them anymore” he said. “Is everything ok? You’re more jumpy than normal today.”</p><p>            “Not use to someone wanting me dead” I replied.</p><p>            “Stan and I won’t let that happen” he said.  “Also, you will be able to put up a hell of a fight if they get past us” he added as an afterthought. “You’ve improved a lot since we started training together.”</p><p>            “What Irene said in the car was true. Both my ankles were weak from multiple sprains. I had to have my left shoulder operated because I tore the tendon and I’ve pinched the tendons in my right one. I never thought that I would be able to get this far” I told him.</p><p>            “If they offer you a position would you take it” he asked.</p><p>            “As an assassin” I asked. I wanted to make sure that I understood what he was asking. He nodded. “I don’t know. I’ve always felt like my calling was in law enforcement, but I never thought about eliminating threats like that. I always thought I would be arresting people. I knew that I may kill some but to have that be the main part of my job. I don’t know.” I answered honestly. We stood facing each other in silence for what felt like a few minutes.  </p><p>            “Let’s get settled in” Mitch finally said. I nodded and we walked back to the bedroom. Mitch and I unpacked our duffle bags in silence. Now that he had snuck up on me, I was hyperaware of his presence, but despite that I was still relatively calm.</p><p>            “I’m going to take a bath” I told him once I had finished unpacking my bag.  He nodded. He was at the desk looking at something on his laptop. I grabbed a bralette, a clean pair of underwear and my fleece pajamas before entering the bathroom and closing the door behind me. I took out my pistol and placed it on a shelf that was by the tub. The shelf had different types of bubble bath options on it. I chose a bottle that said Relaxation and read that it smelled like lavender. I could use some relaxation after today. I prepared the bath and stripped out of my cloths before settling into the tub. While the lavender smell and warm water helped melt away all my other worries, I couldn’t get Mitch’s question out of my head. Could I really be an assassin? Could I kill people for a living? I would be saving lives, but no one would know. I was sure that Mitch’s status was confidential. Many people would have problems with the Unites States using assassins even if it was to protect them from terrorists. Once I felt the warm bath turn cold, I got up and drained the tub before walking into the shower to rinse off and wash my hair. I then dried off and changed into the clothes I brought with me before brushing my teeth. I put my dirty clothes in the hamper and then grabbed the pistol and returned to the bedroom. Mitch was still in front of the computer. I placed the pistol on the nightstand and got into bed. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and messaged Elizabeth.</p><p>            <em>I’m safe. My mom knows. She’s not happy.</em></p><p>A few minutes later Elizabeth replied.</p><p>            <em>She’ll come around. </em></p><p>I smiled at the message before getting under the covers and trying to get some sleep. Mitch turned off the lights in the bedroom, but I then saw the ones in the bathroom turn on. I closed my eyes but couldn’t fall asleep even when I heard Mitch lay down in bed a while later. His question kept floating around my head until I finally had an answer, but I had one question I wanted to ask him first.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            “Mitch” I said turning onto my side to face him. I could see him due to the moonlight streaming through the window. He was laying on his back.</p><p>            “Yes, Olivia” he replied.</p><p>            “Why did you become an assassin” I asked. He didn’t answer right away. I stayed like that watching him until he finally answered.</p><p>            “I lost someone very close to me. I wanted revenge and to make sure no one else had to go through that” he replied. I wanted to know more but I didn’t want to pry.</p><p>            “I think I would” I said. Mitch turned on to his side to face me.</p><p>            “Would what” he asked.</p><p>            “Take the offer, if the CIA offers me a position as an assassin, I think I would take it. In the ambulance I told you that I was willing to do it again if it meant that I got to save the lives of the innocent. I still stand by that. I would be an assassin if it means that I was saving the lives of the innocent. They wouldn’t know that I am, but I don’t mind being an invisible protector. I never was one to care about fame or any of that.” I replied. I tried to gage his reaction, but he could be impossible to read sometimes.</p><p>            “As long as it’s something you really want, I think you would be a good asset to the team” he finally said.</p><p>            “Thank you” I replied finally being able to fall asleep now that my mind was clear. I woke up in a panic due to a nightmare. Mitch was sitting on my bed and leaning slightly over me pinning my arms down over my head with one hand. I noticed that he was only wearing a pair of sweatpants that were hanging pretty low on his hips. I also noticed that he barely had any hair on his body. He had some in between his pecs and a happy trail but that was it.</p><p>            “Are you awake now” he asked breaking me away from my thoughts that were about to become X-rated.</p><p>            “Yeah” I replied.</p><p>            “Can I trust you not to attack me this time” he asked I gave him a confused look. I didn’t remember ever attacking him. He showed me his other wrist where I could see crescent indents that I knew came from my nails.</p><p>            “Sorry” I apologize. I must have grabbed on to his wrist in my sleep. He let me go.</p><p>            “Are the nightmares the reason you wanted to share a room with me?” he asked. I nodded.</p><p>            “Like you saw I can react violently when someone tries to wake me up from them and I figured that out of everyone here you would be the best at dodging any attacks” I stated.</p><p>            “Next time I’m not letting my guard down” he said. “Can you go back to sleep?” I shook my head no. “Then get ready. We’ll go train outside” he practically ordered.</p><p>            “Drill Sargent” I whispered but stretched and got out of bed anyway. I heard him chuckle behind me. I went to the closet and pulled out a black long-sleeved compression top and a black and hot pink pair of high waisted leggings. I also grabbed a sports bra from the drawer. I knew that I would have to do laundry often since I only had 4 workout outfits and 5 regular outfits. I changed in the bathroom and then returned to bedroom where I put on a pair of socks and my black high-top sneakers. I grabbed the pistol from the nightstand. “Are we taking the guns with us?” I asked Mitch as he stepped out of the bathroom. He was now dressed in black athletic pants and a black Henley.</p><p>            “Yes, I want you to learn how to run with it. We will put them down when we spar” he said. I put the gun in waist band of the leggings on my lower back. It felt weird carrying it there and I knew that with the outfit I was currently wearing would make it noticeable. We headed downstairs, grabbed a water bottle each and then went outside. The house was silent since it was only 5:30 in the morning. We would be training for about an hour in the dark. My eyes quickly adjusted to the moonlight outside as we ran around the clearing. Every once in a while, Mitch would dart into the trees and had me follow him so I could get better at running on uneven terrain. After about an hour of running/ jogging, we stopped in the back yard. I drank some water and caught my breath because I knew that the next part was going to be the hardest. I barely beat Mitch when he was holding back and now that I knew that I wouldn’t stand a chance. That didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to try my hardest. I placed my gun next to the water bottle on the back porch and got into a defensive position as Mitch also put his gun on the porch. I felt like we were being watched and when my eyes darted towards the house after Mitch had taken me down, I saw my mother turn away from the window. I had a feeling that Stan was also watching from somewhere, but he was more discrete. We spared until the sun was high in the sky. Like I had expected he had been really holding back before. The whole time we were sparing I landed two hits and they both had only partially landed, but I had still managed to dodge or block almost all of his. I had left myself open twice causing me to have to do pushups. By the time he finally decided to end our training I was drenched in sweat and exhausted.</p><p>            “You did well” he told me as we sat next to each other on the porch drinking what was left of our water. He was also sweating though not as much as me. Some of the strains of his hair were sticking to his face. I scoffed.</p><p>            “I didn’t land a single decent hit on you” I said.</p><p>            “I’ve been an assassin for about 3 years now and trained for a year and a half before that. I’ve had a lot of training in hand-to hand combat and I barely got any hits on you and I wasn’t holding back this time. Your strength is dodging and blocking.” He said. “That can keep you alive. You also mange to see openings quickly but need to work on your speed so you can land a hit before your opponent realizes that you have an opening.” I blushed due to the praise. “Come on let’s head inside so we can shower and eat.” He said getting up and grabbing his gun. I stood up and grab mine as well before following him back around the front of the house and walking in. I threw my now empty water bottle in the recycling bin on the side of the house. My mom was on her laptop in the dining room. She didn’t even look up as Mitch and I entered the house. Stan and my grandma were watching an old baseball game on the TV. They both turned to look at us. I instinctively hid the gun behind my back.</p><p>            “Do you want lunch” my grandma asked in Spanish.</p><p>            “Yes, please but we are going to shower first” I replied in Spanish. She got up and went to cook while Mitch and I went upstairs to our bedroom. Mitch allowed me to shower first. I grabbed a change of clothing and went to the bathroom to shower. I let the warm water relax my muscles in hopes that I wouldn’t be too sore tomorrow because I knew that Mitch was not going to go easy on me just because I was sore. He never had in the past and now that there was an active threat against me, I doubt he would. Once I was fully clean including my hair I stepped out of the shower and dried off. I then changed into the red t-shirt and stretchy skinny jeans. I secured the gun in the waistband of the jeans. I grabbed the hairbrush from the bathroom and returned to the bedroom where Mitch and Stan were waiting. I was confused as to why Stan was in our room but just shrugged it off as them talking strategy. I sat down on the thick ledge of the window that had a soft cushion covering it and brushed my hair while Mitch went to go shower.</p><p>            “Your mom was watching you train with Mitch” Stan said sitting on Mitch’s bed.</p><p>            “I know. Do I want to know if she said anything?” I asked.  </p><p>            “She asked me if he was training you for the CIA” he replied. I gave him a look that clearly said to continue. “I told her no that he was training you to protect yourself.” I nodded. He didn’t know that I knew that he was also here to evaluate me. “She’ll come around eventually.”</p><p>            “Hopefully, because if not it is going to be a very tense foreseeable future” I replied.</p><p>            “Why did you do it” he asked. I gave him a confused look. “In London, what made you decided to fight instead of just following their orders and praying you survived.”</p><p>            “My professor was bleeding out on the floor. My classmates were terrified that they would be the next to be shot. We had no way to communicate with the outside world to get help. I relied on my instincts to survive and to protect them even at the cost of the lives of others or my own.” I replied.</p><p>            “Do you regret it” he asked.</p><p>            “No and I never will” I replied getting up. “I regret that my family got dragged into this, but I do not regret what I did that day and I would do it again to continue to protect the innocent. They deserved it.” I then walked out of the room and back downstairs.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            A month passed without an incident. Mitch and I continued to train in the morning. Sometimes we started before the sun rose and sometimes, we started later, but no matter when we started it was always tough. Now that Mitch wasn’t holding back anymore, I was constantly being pushed to my limits. It’s not that training with him was easy before, but it was never this rigorous. Mitch and I also took our online classes. We both opted to do it from the bedroom. My mother had yet to forgive me so being on the main floor was always a tense affair. Mitch would take the desk while I would either be on my bed or the window seat. Our school had gone completely online after the incident. My brother’s school recently went online only due to the spread of some deadly virus which we weren’t worried about since we were secluded. Stan had taken it upon himself to train my brother in some basic combat techniques. They would train in front of the house and I would watch them from the window of the bedroom while taking my classes.  A black pickup truck would drop off our supplies once every two weeks. My grandma was happy to cook for all of us. Sadly, the peace couldn’t last forever. I woke up in the middle of the night to the alarm ringing which signaled that something had triggered the sensors in the forest surrounding the home. I quickly got out of bed tucked my gun into the waistband of the all black leggings I had worn to sleep. Ever since Mitch decided that he wanted to teach me how to always be ready and had me train in my pajamas since I couldn’t change fast enough, I had decided to wear leggings and socks to sleep instead of pajama pants. I stripped out of my sleeping shirt and quickly changed into a black long-sleeved tactical shirt and then put on my bulletproof vest both of which had come in our first shipment of supplies. I also put on the pair of tactical boots that had come in our last shipment before running down the stairs behind Mitch who had thrown on a black shirt and put on his sneakers. I quickly tied my hair up as we ran to the basement to get rifles. We passed Nick who already had a rifle and his own bullet proof vest on. I knew that he would be guarding my mom and grandparents in the master bathroom. Stan had just grabbed a rifle when Mitch and I entered. We each grabbed our own assault rifles. He grabbed a hunting knife while I grabbed a M9 bayonet that I hid in my boot. Mitch had never trained me with a knife, but one had saved my life back in London. It gave me comfort knowing that I would have it on me if I needed it. Mitch and Stan went outside to check out what set off the sensor while I hid in the shadows in the hallway that led to the bedrooms. I aimed for the door so that if anyone got passed Mitch and Stan, I would be able to take them down. The house was silent except for my rapidly beating heart which I desperately tried to calm down. After what felt like forever, I heard Stan say the code word before opening the front door. I stayed in position until I knew for sure that it was only him and Mitch before walking out of the hallway.</p><p>            “All clear just some lost campers” Stan said.</p><p>            “In March” I asked.</p><p>            “Apparently, headquarters is running their pictures” Mitch replied. I then turned around to walk towards the master bedroom and give the all clear to my brother. Mitch and Stan followed me. I said the code word through the door before opening it. My brother was in the center of the room facing the door. Once he saw that it was just us, he lowered his gun.</p><p>            “Everything is ok” I said in Spanish which caused my mom and grandma to emerge from there hiding places. Both of them were also wearing bulletproof vests. I knew that my grandfather would be sitting in a chair around the corner with a vest on. My mom caught me off guard by running up to me. I managed to swing my rifle, so it was on my back right before she crashed into me and gave me a hug which I hesitantly returned.</p><p>            “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry” she cried into my chest.</p><p>            “I’m going to go make some chamomile tea um manzanilla” Stan said. The Spanish translation for chamomile sounding foreign coming from him. Both he and Mitch had picked up on some Spanish while living with us. It was mostly food and Stan had picked up some baseball terminology from my grandma.  My grandmother followed him out of the bathroom to go and help him with the tea. My brother helped my grandfather up and walked him towards the bed. I knew that Mitch was still behind me. I didn’t know how to react to my mom who was still crying into my chest. I patted her head in a comforting manner.</p><p>            “I didn’t know until now what you must’ve gone through. I was terrified and there wasn’t even anyone here and we have protection. You had none of that and were staring down armed men. You even got shot. I don’t agree with what you did but I understand it better now.” She said once she controlled herself a bit.</p><p>            “It’s ok” I told her. I didn’t know what else to say. “Come on let’s get you some tea and then try to get some sleep.” I said. She pulled away from me. Mitch held his hand out.</p><p>            “Give me your rifle. I’ll put it away. Keep the knife. I’ll train you on how to properly use it” he said even though it basically sounded like an order. I gave him the rifle and he left the room. I then walked out with my mom. My grandfather was sleeping. I wish I could sleep that easily.</p><p>            “Do you still want to go into law enforcement” my mom asked as we walked to the kitchen.</p><p>            “Yes” I replied. I did not like the direction the conversation was taking.</p><p>            “I’ll support anything you do even if its joining Stan and Mitch’s team” she said. How much did she know about who was protecting us? Did she just think they were CIA operatives, or did she also know about the black-ops unit? I didn’t know what she had been told.</p><p>            “Thank you. That means a lot to me” I replied.</p><p>            “You’re different but not a bad different” she replied confusing me.</p><p>            “What do you mean by that” I asked her.</p><p>            “You’re not naïve anymore” she replied.</p><p>            “Trauma changes people” I stated. She nodded and took a seat at the island. Stan then passed her a mug. Nick was also drinking from a mug and no longer had his vest on. My grandma had also taken hers off. I took the mug my grandma gave me which was room temperature instead of hot. Mitch soon entered the room as well and grabbed a mug before standing in between me and my grandma. Stan was standing next to Nick on the other side of the island.  </p><p>            “I don’t understand how grandpa can just sleep after that” Nick said.</p><p>            “He probably doesn’t know what happened” I replied. I guess this is probably one of the very few times that Alzheimer’s was a blessing. Nick kept looking at me. “What” I asked.</p><p>            “Tactical gear suits you. I don’t think I would’ve said that 2 years ago” he said.</p><p>            “Yeah for as much as I hate to admit it, it does suit you” my mom said.</p><p>            “Bulletproof vests are bloody annoying though” I replied. This one fit me better than the one I had borrowed in London, but it still wasn’t my favorite thing to wear. Everyone besides my grandmother who didn’t understand what I said laughed. We soon finished our tea and Nick offered to do the dishes while we all went to bed. He was used to staying up late and would sleep in. Mitch and I went upstairs to our room. I took off the bulletproof vest and tactical shirt. I put both in the closet after I put on my sleeping shirt. I didn’t mind changing my shirt in front of Mitch since I was wearing a bralette underneath. I took off the boots and put the knife and gun on my nightstand. I then laid down in bed but couldn’t fall asleep. I kept twisting and turning because there was still adrenaline running through my veins.</p><p>            “Can’t sleep” Mitch asked. My twisting and turning must’ve kept him awake.</p><p>            “Yeah, I guess I’m just still wound up from earlier” I replied. He sighed.</p><p>            “Come over here” he said. I got up and walked over to his bed even though I was confused. He grabbed my arm and tugged me down under the covers and next to him on the bed. He wasn’t touching me anymore, but he was close enough that I could feel his body heat. “Your safe now go to sleep” he said settling down on his back. I curled up on my side facing him and fell asleep. I woke up the next day to the sunlight heating my back signaling that the sun was quite high in the sky. My eyes snapped opened. Mitch was sitting on the edge of the bed still shirtless. I took some time to admire his muscular back. “About time you woke up” he said.</p><p>            “Why did you let me sleep in” I asked him.</p><p>            “We had an eventful night. We don’t have to train today” he said.</p><p>            “I would like to train though” I replied. “You told me that you were going to train me on how to use the knife.”</p><p>            “If you want too, we can, I just figured that you could do with a day off” he said twisting his body to look at me.</p><p>            “I don’t need it but thank you for letting me sleep in” I replied getting up.</p><p>            “You're welcome” he said turning back to whatever he was doing. I went to the closet and grabbed a long sleeve compression top and a sports bra and went to bathroom to change.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>           Mitch and I grew closer over the next two months. He actually started answering personal questions truthfully and I opened up a bit more about what was going on in my mind especially in regard to my PTSD from London. I had gotten really good with the knife and often times we would be entering the house with swallow cuts on our bodies from each other’s attacks. I had started sparing in just a sports bra and leggings so my shirts wouldn’t get cut up. Mitch had also started to train shirtless. The weather wasn’t exactly great to be training with such little clothes on, but the exercise kept us from getting too cold. We also would try to spar in the early afternoon when the weather was the warmest instead of early morning. We had just finished sparing and were sitting on the porch relaxing. Both of us had thrown on long sleeve shirts. I was nervous cause I wanted to ask Mitch a question, but I was not sure how he would take it.</p><p>            “What’s wrong” he asked me. I gave him a confused look. “You’re fidgety” he replied.</p><p>            “I want to ask you a question” I replied honestly.</p><p>            “Why are you so nervous about that? Just ask” he said.</p><p>            “Who is Katrina” I asked looking at him trying to gauge his reaction. I saw hurt flicker in his eyes before it was replaced by anger.</p><p>            “How do you know about her” he asked me in a harsh tone.</p><p>            “Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, I hear you say her name in your sleep” I explained. It took a few minutes for him to calm down. I thought he was just going to ignore the question, so I went to stand up, but his arm stopped me.</p><p>            “She was my fiancé. She’s also the person I lost. I had just proposed to her when the beach was attacked by terrorists” he answered. While I couldn’t hear the hurt in his voice, I could see it in his eyes. I rested my hand on his arm in a comforting manner. We sat like that for a while before he spoke up again. “Now it’s your turn. I’ve heard you call out the name of two guys in your sleep. You always sound terrified of them. Who are they?” he asked. I didn’t need him to clarify which names because there were only two that gave me nightmares.</p><p>            “Let’s go for a walk” I told him getting up and hiding my gun. My knife was already in my boot. I knew that he would understand that I didn’t want to talk about it near the house. Ever since my mom and I made up she would occasionally come outside to watch us train even though I knew it terrified her. She knew that Mitch wouldn’t actually seriously hurt me but still watching us go at each other with moves that could possibly kill made her nervous. We walked into the forest slightly. No one from the house would be able to see us so I leaned up against a tree. “Luke was the guy who threatened me into sexting with him and performing sexual acts when I was 14. My mom found out about the sexting and got the cops involved before he could rape me, but I was still traumatized for a while. Jeremy was my first boyfriend. He lied to me from the beginning not that I realized it at the time. I knew that he had served time, but he made it seem like it was over something stupid. He had also told me that he was in a gang but had downplayed it saying that he was only in it to survive jail. It started off ok but then it wasn’t. He was psychologically and sexually abusive. He ended up dumping me and I refused to take him back after he almost got me killed because he owned money to some drug lord. I was screwed up even before London, but honestly right now is the most psychologically sound I have been in a long time” I explained not looking at Mitch. I held all my emotions back because I didn’t want him to see me as weak.</p><p>            “He wasn’t the one you were with while we were in London” Mitch asked. I shook my head no.</p><p>            “How did you know that I was with someone” I asked him.</p><p>            “You used to wear a ring on left ring finger that was a blue heart. When I saw you again in New York you had stopped wearing it. I looked through your file, but it didn’t say anything about a boyfriend or fiancé” he replied. I wasn’t surprised that he had looked through the CIA’s file on me before deciding to pretend to transfer to my school.</p><p>            “We broke up about a week after I came back. We were no longer compatible. Our relationship had been rocky for months since he befriended this girl who clearly wanted him which I was originally ok with but when he started to ignore me in favor of her, I grew jealous. She also was a bitch. Constantly insulting him and getting pissed at him if he praised me. After everything that happened in London, I didn’t want to put anymore effort into that relationship because I knew he would never understand. I guess the main turning point was when I tried to call him when I was in the hospital after being shot, he kept ignoring my calls. I really needed him, and he wasn’t there for me.” I explained. “We should head back before they start worrying about us” I stated after a few moments of silence. I turned around to go walk towards the house, but Mitch grabbed my arm and turned me around before pulling me into a hug which I hesitantly returned. He didn’t say anything. “When you asked about why I was training, I didn’t give you a full answer. I told you part of it, but the other reason was that I was tired of being a damsel in distress. I was tired of being weak and walked on. London changed me and I never want to go back to the girl I was before.” Mitch sighed.</p><p>            “You’re definitely not weak now and I doubt you were back then. I know that when I met you in London you weren’t weak. You chose to risk your life to protect everyone else. When I saw you in the hallway with an assault rifle and determination burning in your eyes, I knew that you were stronger than I ever thought you were. Most people would’ve taken the chance to return to the safety of their room, but you stood your ground. That isn’t the type of strength that can be taught. It’s the type of strength that you are born with.” he said. We stayed like that for a few more moments before breaking away and returning to the house. As we walked around the side of the house, I spotted a black SUV parked in front. I immediate drew my gun and turned to Mitch who had drawn his as well. We carefully approached the house. I covered Mitch’s back in case anyone was outside while he entered the house. “Olivia, it’s just Irene” he said. I turned around and saw that Irene was sitting at the island with a guy next to her. I put my gun away. Mitch had already put his away.</p><p>            “We have new intel” she stated. “Let’s go somewhere to talk.”</p><p>            “We could use the upstairs bedroom” Stan said. Irene nodded and he then began to walk towards the staircase with the other guy. Mitch followed them.</p><p>            “Olivia you can come too” Irene said. I followed her upstairs. I wasn’t sure why I was being allowed in on the meeting. Maybe it was because I was being recruited? I closed the door to the room once we were all inside. “We’ve found their base. Mitch and Stan will be going to take care of them. Olivia this is Matt he will be taking over the protect detail while Stan and Mitch are away.” I sized up the newcomer. He wasn’t as muscular as Mitch. He was still taller than me but only by a few inches. He shifted nervously under my glare.</p><p>            “Seriously” I said to Irene. “You are leaving one person in charge of protecting five. What if they anticipated the attack on the base and decided to attack here at the same time?”</p><p>            “Olivia is right” Stan agreed.</p><p>            “No one is going on this mission alone and we don’t have anyone else” Irene said.</p><p>            “Then have me go with Mitch and Stan stays here with Matt” the words were out of my mouth before I could fully think about what I was saying. Matt and Stan were giving me surprised looks while Irene was giving me a calculating one. I couldn’t read the look in Mitch’s eyes.</p><p>            “Olivia this is going to be different. We are going to be infiltrating their base” Mitch pointed out. His voice was emotionless so I couldn’t determine if he was against my idea or not. I had noticed that he used a softer tone of voice when it was just us than when others were around. Was that softer tone how he spoke before he lost the love of his life to terrorists?</p><p>            “I know” I replied.</p><p>            “You’re not serious considering sending her and Mitch” Stan asked Irene.</p><p>            “I am” she replied surprising me. “There base is Yemen” she continued looking straight at me. My hand clenched into a fist knowing that it would make our mission harder. There was a civil war and the rebel forces were ruthless and there was also the issue of ISIS cells. “How much do you know about Yemen?” She asked me. I suspected she knew that I had done research on the conditions in Yemen last year for one of my classes. I knew that the conditions had not improved.</p><p>            “Enough to know that it made our mission harder between the rebel forces, civil war and ISIS cells that country is a mess. It’s been ruled a humanitarian crisis” I replied.  Irene gave Stan a look and he just sighed.</p><p>            “I still don’t like this. If you insist on sending her then she should be partnered with someone with more experience” Stan stated.</p><p>            “If I may” I began. Irene nodded to show that I had permission to speak. “If I am going to be sent with anyone, it should be Mitch. We’ve trained together which means that we know each other’s weakness and can cover them. We are familiar with the other’s fighting style which will help to ensure that we do not get in each other’s way. We have work together in the past without issues.”</p><p>            “She has a valid point Stan. Even if I could find someone else from Orion to partner her with, they will be at a disadvantage. They would be strangers, and this is not the type of mission that you want two people who have never worked together on. Olivia are you sure about this? There is a good chance that you will not make it back. You will be a ghost out there.” Irene said. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to talk me out of this or just making sure that I was making an informed decision.</p><p>            “I am. I know the risks” I replied my voice strong and steady despite my heart racing due to nerves.</p><p>            “Mitch will be the lead then. Olivia follow his orders” Irene said giving us each a folder. “Both of you will leave tomorrow. We will be staying here tonight. Matt will be taking over for Mitch.” I nodded taking the folder from her. She left the room with Matt. Stan stayed behind.</p><p>            “Olivia it’s not too late for you to change your mind” he said. I looked down at the manila folder in my hand.</p><p>            “Why are you so against me going?” I asked him raising my head to look him in the eyes. “Is it because you think I can’t do it.” I knew that I was beginning to get defensive. My conversation in the forest with Mitch had brought all my insecurities to the forefront of my mind.</p><p>            “No, I know that you are physically capable of doing it just like I know that if we are talking about physical capabilities both of you are a good team. I’m more worried about mentally. I can’t get a read on your thoughts. I was a Navy SEAL. I know what killing people can do to a person” he said.</p><p>            “You’re a bit late on that. I have killed before” I replied.</p><p>            “Yes and no one knows how it affected you” he said. I could read between the lines. He wasn’t sure if I was unstable.</p><p>            “You don’t have to worry about how stable I am. We will get the mission done” I replied.</p><p>            “You should never let things get personal, but this is a very personal mission for you” he said. I narrowed my eyes in a glare.</p><p>            “No matter how personal it is or impersonal, we will get it done and come back alive” I replied anger clear in my tone. “I know the risks, but no one is going to be able to talk me out of this.” I felt Mitch grab my arm restraining me in case Stan continued to infuriate me. Stan gave us both one more look before leaving the room. I sat on the windowsill and opened the folder. I began to read the information inside. Mitch brought over the chair and sat in front of me.</p><p>            “They don’t think your weak” he said causing me to raise my head and look at him. “Stan is used to training all the recruits for our unit himself. He was also against me joining, but he’s warmed up to me a bit.” I looked into his cinnamon brown eyes.</p><p>            “We’ll get this done and all this will be over” I said. My tone leaving no room for arguments.</p><p>            “It’s never over” he replied.</p><p>            “This one threat will be. I know that there will always be more threats to take care of” I said.</p><p>            “This one will be” he replied getting up. “I’m going to take a shower before going over the mission file.” I nodded and went back to reading mine own. Apparently, the base was close to the shore of Yemen so we would be staying in an East African country named Eritrea. We would travel by boat to the target location, and complete the mission and then return to Eritrea. From Eritrea we would fly back to the United States. The time frame for the mission was about five days. Two of those days would be lost due to the flight. Each flight had multiple layovers which would make it harder to track us. I opened the passport that was clipped to the file and looked at my own picture which made me realize that this had all been planned. Irene had intended for me to take the mission. I growled. “What’s wrong?” Mitch asked coming out of the bathroom.</p><p>            “She always intended for me to take the mission” I said looking up from the folder. Mitch was standing there shirtless. There were still a few water droplets on his chest that he dried off with his towel. I showed him the passport. He shook his head.</p><p>            “I’m not all that surprised. Are we traveling together?” he asked. I went back to reading the mission plan.</p><p>            “Yep as husband and wife apparently. We don’t have to start acting though until we get to Dublin which is our first layover” I replied looking at him to try and gauge his reaction. I had just learned today that he had lost his fiancée and tomorrow I would be pretending to be his wife.</p><p>            “Good thing that I have you as a partner then instead of Stan” he joked causing me to laugh. I closed the file and put it on my bed before going to shower.</p><p>            “Think you can pretend to be married to me for five days” I asked playfully.</p><p>            “I think I can manage what about you” he replied. His tone just as playful as mine.</p><p>            “I think I can manage” I said echoing his words. I grabbed a change of clothes and entering the bathroom. I took a shower and changed into the new outfit before exiting the bathroom.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>           It was almost dinner time, so Mitch and I went downstairs. I was not looking forward to the conversation with my mom. I walked into the large room. My grandma was in the kitchen and my mom was helping her put things on the island. My brother had helped my grandpa sit at the dining room table that now had three extra chairs. I noticed another new man who was helping set the table. My mom came over and gave me a hug. I returned it but was surprised.</p><p>            “You better come back” she threatened which made me realize that someone must’ve told her that I was leaving.</p><p>            “I will try my best” I replied to reassure her but at the same time not giving her false hope. Dinner was interesting. I found out that Matt was fluent in Spanish and the reason that he was slightly afraid of me was because he had seen Mitch in training since he had joined Orion just before Mitch had. He had read my file, so he knew that Mitch had been training me. While I did not know what was in my file, I knew that it had probably been updated by Stan while we had been here. Nick and Matt seemed to hit it off well. Matt was a gamer and computer geek like Nick, so they spend a lot of times talking about games and computer. After dinner, I managed to confront Irene. “So, it was always the plan for me to go” I asked/ stated.</p><p>            “Yes, I did set up an extra plan incase you opted not to” she replied.</p><p>            “Why not just tell me” I asked.</p><p>            “I wanted to know if you were ready” she replied. “I knew that just asking you outright might not lead to a truthful answer, so I opted to trick you into. That mind of yours is really something special.”</p><p>            “Fine, just know that I’m not a fan of being manipulated” I replied.</p><p>            “I know. I am the only one besides my superior who has read your entire file including all past relationships” she replied. “Everyone else received the redacted version which only covers from London until now.”</p><p>            “Ok” I said before turning around to head back upstairs. It was going to be a long night because I had to memorize the mission file since we would not be allowed to take them with us. No one could ever know that this mission was sanctioned by the United States.  It was the early hours of the morning when Mitch made me put down the mission file and get some sleep which involved him grabbing the file from me, putting it on the windowsill and laying down next to me so I wouldn’t be able to reach it. I woke up a few hours later to Mitch shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes tiredly. It was still dark out, but I knew that we were going to be leaving before sunrise. I stretched and went to find an outfit to put on for the day. I grabbed a pair of jeggings, a sports bra, plain t-shirt, and a hoodie. I splashed some water on my face in the bathroom before changing. When I walked out of the bathroom Mitch was already waiting for me. I quickly put on my socks and boots. I left my gun and knife. It felt weird not having them on me. I grabbed both my real and fake passports.</p><p>            “Let’s go” Mitch said. I nodded and followed him out of the room and downstairs. My mom, grandma and brother were waiting for me alongside Irene and Stan. My grandma was the first to give me a hug goodbye. Next was my brother.</p><p>            “Make sure they stay safe” I told him.</p><p>            “I will and worry about keeping yourself safe” he replied.</p><p>            “I will do the best I can” I replied. My mom was the last to come and hug me.</p><p>            “Please come back in one piece” she said tearfully. She didn’t want to let me go but eventually reluctantly pulled away. I untie my necklace from around my neck and tied it around her neck.</p><p>            “Keep it safe while I’m gone. I’ll come back for it and for all of you” I told her before follow Mitch and Irene out of the house and into the SUV. Irene would be going with us to Dublin. There she would stay with our real passports. Mitch and I would then leave on a flight to Istanbul on our fake passports that stated that we were citizens of Spain. Our luggage had a secret compartment to store our weapons that would not show up on an x-ray. The airport was relatively empty, and we managed to check in and pass security without a hassle. Soon we were on our flight which wasn’t even half full. I was grateful for the long flight which allowed me to catch up on the sleep that I had missed the night before. Once we had cleared the gate in Dublin, we handed over our passports to Irene who handed us each a plain wedding band before leaving. Mitch and I made our way over to our next gate. I was a bit surprised when he slipped his hand into mine but then remember that we had to play our parts starting now. We were a married couple enjoying their honeymoon. After 12 hours we were finally landing in Eritrea. I put up the hood of my hoodie to hide my hair when I realized that many women were wearing head coverings. We took a cab to our hotel which was close to the shore. It was a long drive from the airport, but it was on the part of Eritrea that was closest to Yemen so that it would only take us about an hour to cross the Red Sea and enter Yemen close to where the base was. I rested my head on his shoulder during the cab ride and he wrapped an arm around my waist. The closeness was torture. It was no secret that I found him attractive and would like to be more then friends with him, but I knew that it was not possible especially now that I knew about his past. I didn’t care that he would always love Katrina. I was a strong believer that a person can love more than one person, but I also understood why he would be hesitant to be in a relationship again. Once we got to the hotel, Mitch unloaded our bags and gave me mine. We went to check in. I hated that I couldn’t understand what Mitch was saying to the person working the desk since I didn’t speak Arabic. I promised myself that if we survived this then he was teaching me more languages.  We soon had our room and settled in. The room was fairly large but only had one full size bed which I should’ve expected since we were supposed to be a couple. Mitch locked the door and checked the room for cameras or microphones before opening his luggage. I did the same with mine to see what weapons the CIA had given us. I opened the secret compartment that was hidden under the clothes. I picked up the Glock. I wasn’t sure about the model, but I did know that it was one of the high-capacity ones. The three magazines next to it each held 17 bullets. I smiled when I saw that I also had a Bayonet M9. The last gun confused me. I had never seen anything like it.</p><p>            “It’s a compact assault rifle normally used by the Israel Defense Forces” Mitch explained noticing my confusion. “It’ll be easier to hide than a regular assault rifle and just as deadly.” He showed me how to hold it which I soon got the hang of. It was really light without any bullets in it. “We’ll move in tomorrow evening. During the day we will keep up the act.” Mitch explained once he was sure that I would be able to use the new assault rifle.</p><p>            “Got it” I replied and began looking through the rest of the suitcase. I noticed that it had another secret compartment which I opened and pulled out a military grade ballistic vest. “Do you have a bullet proof vest too” I asked Mitch.</p><p>            “No” he said.</p><p>            “Then why do I” I asked.</p><p>            “I don’t know” he replied but I could tell that he was lying. I decided that it really wasn’t worth pushing him about it.</p><p>            “Well I’m going to shower and then get some rest tomorrow is going to be a long day” I stated grabbing a pair of shorts and a tank top to sleep in. I also grabbed underwear and a bralette. The bathroom was nice. It was small but functional. I showered thinking about everything. Tomorrow we would be entering an enemy base and killing everyone. I figured that I should feel something about that, but I didn’t. There was no guilt. I knew that they were willing and had done worse to innocent people to advance their cause. My thoughts then changed to my partner. I had been able to keep my feelings for him at bay despite training with him for 2 year and then sharing a room with him for 3 months but now that we were pretending to be a couple those feelings were stronger than ever. I knew that I needed to get rid of them. There was no way that he would return them. At best we could be close friends and coworkers. I got out of the shower and dried off before changing into my sleepwear and brushing my teeth. I left the bathroom and laid down on the bed. Mitch was at the window looking out but once he heard me leave the restroom, he gathered his things to shower as well. I was dozing off when he got into bed.</p><p>            “Tomorrow might change everything for you” he said.</p><p>            “I know but whatever changes I’m ready for it” I replied.</p><p>            “I’ll help you through it” he whispered. I barely heard him since he had turned so his back was facing me. I creased my brow in confusion before deciding to just go to sleep and worry about it later. It wasn’t so much his words that had confused me but more the soft and caring tone he had used. It took a while for me to fall asleep. I kept turning the ring on my finger. It felt foreign but it was something that I could get use to. Something that my heart wished was real and not just our cover. Eventually sleep stopped eluding me and I drifted off. I woke up the next morning to the sun high in the sky. Mitch was still asleep next to me. I glanced at the small clock in the room and noticed that it was past 10 in the morning. I tried to think of what a couple that was on honeymoon would do, but the first thing that popped up in my mind was sex. I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts but then realized that it would be very normal for a couple to wake up late and barely leave their room especially the first day together. We could use that to our favor because I was iffy on us going out. These guys wanted us. They were less than 40 miles away so the less people who saw us the better. I decided to order room service. I got out of bed and picked up the menu which luckily had English translations. I decided to order this porridge with saffron and cardamom but had no idea what to order for Mitch. “Number 10” he said startling me since I did not know that he was awake. I looked over at him. He was staring at me.</p><p>            “Let me guess you read the menu last night” I said. He nodded. “Ok well I’m going to try to order but they don’t speak English or Spanish then I guess you are ordering breakfast. Oh, and you are teaching me Arabic when we get back home.” Mitch laughed. I ignored like always the warm feeling that spread through my body. I picked up the phone and dialed room service.</p><p>            “How may I help you” a voice said in very accented English.</p><p>            “May I have an order of number 2 and 10” I replied making sure that my Spanish accent was heavier than normal.</p><p>            “Room number” the voice said.</p><p>            “210” I replied.</p><p>            “30 minutes” the voice said before hanging up.</p><p>            “What” I asked Mitch who had been staring at me the entire time. That woke him out of his stupor.</p><p>            “Nothing” he replied getting up. I knew he was lying to me, but I just sighed. He would tell me eventually.</p><p>            “I was thinking that we should just stay here for today until we have to leave to complete the mission. It is normal for a just married couple to stay in their room all day having sex” I said. He raised an eyebrow at me but there was a playfulness in his eyes. “Not that I’m suggesting we do that” I said blushing. “I’m uncomfortable going out when we are so close to the people targeting us and staying here will not break our cover.”</p><p>            “We can stay in our room. We will be leaving to meet the ship at 5” he said before going into the restroom. The rest of the day past in silence the porridge I had order tasted good and we had also ordered a late lunch. It wasn’t until I had changed into my outfit for tonight which was a pair of black jeggings and a green t-shirt that Mitch spoke again. “Are you scared” he asked. I gave him a curious look wondering why he was asking me.</p><p>            “A bit. I think I’m more nervous though” I replied putting on the ballistic vest. The weight of the ballistic vest finally allowing the weight of what would happen tonight settle.</p><p>            “I would be worried if you weren’t” he replied. He had changed into a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt that clung to his muscles. “Are you regretting deciding to take the mission?”</p><p>            “No” I replied my voice steady and slightly deeper than normal. I tied my hair up into a high ponytail and then a bun to make sure that it would not get in the way before putting on the large zip up hoodie that would hide my vest. I slipped the knife into my boot and the Glock into the waistband of the jeggings and under the hoodie. The compound assault rifle was hidden in a large purse that I had found in my luggage. I had put the extra magazines in the pockets of my ballistic vest. I glanced at the clock and saw that there were only a few minutes left until we would be leaving. I looked at myself in the mirror to make sure that my hair was secured and noticed that my eyes were darker than normal. They looked more like a deep brown than their normal amber color. I stepped out of the restroom and glanced over at Mitch who was also ready to go and sitting on the bed waiting for me. Now that my mind was fully appreciating the risk that there was a good chance that one of us wouldn’t be coming out of this alive, I decided to take a different risk of my own. I wasn’t going to live what remained of my life with regrets. I could either be alive for less than an hour or for many years, but no matter what I was not going to look back and wonder about the what ifs. I walked over to Mitch until I was standing in front of him. We were the same height at the moment. He gave me a confused look as I stopped really close to him. I was technically standing between his legs. Before I could fully think through my actions, I had leaned forward and connected our lips in a kiss.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>           At first, he didn’t respond, most likely shocked by my actions but after a few seconds he kissed me back and wrapped his arms around my waist. I wrapped mine around his neck. It quickly became passionate. “I didn’t want any regrets” I told him once we had broken apart. His eyes were dark. Wishfully I thought that they were dark with lust, but I knew that they could just be dark because of the mission ahead. His eyes were dark in London and at the school when we were attacked. I took a few steps back. He glanced at the clock.</p><p>            “Let’s go” he said grabbing the backpack that hid his rifle while I grabbed the purse. We left the hotel and walked towards the shore where a small boat was waiting for us. About an hour later we were across the Red Sea. The ride was silent with each of us lost in our own thoughts. Once we reached the shore and docked the boat, we quickly took out our rifles. I put the strap around my body as we walked towards the base. We stuck to the shadows made by the setting sun. As soon as night had fallen, we struck. We each took out one of the guards at the entrance with our knifes in order to maintain the element of surprise. It was two against an unknown number of enemies. We needed to maintain the element of surprise for as long as possible to survive. I covered Mitch’s back as we entered the compound taking down anyone who was unlucky enough to get in our way. It seemed like someone had discovered the dead bodies of the guards because an alarm sounded, and more people tried to attack us, but none got very far before being taken down by a bullet. We worked together almost systematically clearing all the rooms making sure that no one was left alive.</p><p>            “You’ve made a very foolish move, Olivia, Jonathan” a voice said from our right. Both of us turned our weapons towards the voice. “I will have both of you killed for killing my brother.” I looked at the guy and remembered from the case file that he was the leader. His brother must have been one of the guys we killed in London. More people swarmed the large room that we had enter. Where the hell had this guy gotten such a large following? I relied on my instincts to get us out of here. We covered for each other when we had to reload and took down as many men as we could with the assault rifles before running out of bullets and having to switch to the pistols. I ducked as a man came running at me with a machete. I drew my knife with my right hand while shooting another man with the pistol in my left hand. I blocked the machete with the knife and kicked the man far away from me before shooting him in the chest. By the time we had taken everyone down I was breathing heavily. Mitch had killed the leader with a bullet to the head. We quickly got out of the base and ran towards the boat since we were not sure if the gun fire had attracted any unwanted guests which could include anyone from the authorities to another terrorist organization.</p><p>            “Are you alright” Mitch asked me once we were a decent way offshore. While I wouldn’t say that we were entirely safe, we were a lot safer now than in Yemen.</p><p>            “Yes, though I think that they seriously underestimated you” I told him. I knew that if those men had been better train then we would’ve had an issue. It had definitely been a quality over quantity fight. We were only two while they had at least thirty most likely more not counting those we had killed before the leader had made himself known. We had caught them by surprise which had given us the advantage. Mitch kept looking at me. “Not regretting it at all” I replied his unasked question. I knew that he wants to make sure that I was ok with this. It was a different situation but at the same time we saved countless lives by taking them out first.</p><p>           “They did underestimate us” Mitch said emphasizing the us. I wanted to argue that it had mostly been him. That I only been his backup, but the way he emphasized us made me realize that he saw me as an equal or at least close to one. I put away our rifles. It took almost an hour for us to return to shore. Adrenaline was still pumping through my veins. My mind knew that we had completed the mission, but my body was still reacting as if there was a threat. I made sure my hoodie was zipped all the way up before we enter the hotel and walked to our room. Tomorrow night we would be catching our flight back. There would be a series of transfers before we would finally reach Dublin again to get our real passports and fly home. There was a good chance that we would get stuck in a quarantine due to the virus wreaking havoc around the world but at least we were alive. The mission was complete, and we had made it out alive. Once we were stateside, I was sure that I would be allowed to contact my family to let them know that I’m ok. I had just finished taking off the ballistics vest when I felt Mitch’s hand around my waist turning me around to face him. I gave him a confused look before his lips crashed with mine in a brutal but passionate kiss. Maybe it was lust that I had seen in his eyes before after all. After that everything was a blur pleasure caused by the mix of lingering adrenaline and the sexual tension between us that both of us had seemed determine to ignore. There was no foreplay involved. The two years leading up to this had been enough waiting. It wasn’t until we were both coming down from post-orgasmic bliss that my brain finally caught up. My head was resting on Mitch’s bare chest while one of my arms was resting across his stomach tracing a scar he had on his side.</p><p>           “Is this just a one-time thing” I asked my insecurities getting the better of me. I really didn’t want this to just be a one-time thing, but I wouldn’t be too upset if it was.  </p><p>           “No” Mitch replied his voice strong with authority. I looked up at him. “I would like to give us a shot” he elaborated his tone softer now.</p><p>           “So, would I” I replied with a smile. I cuddled into him before drifting off to sleep.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>~Three years later~</p><p>            I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and let my hands trace the now familiar veins. A kiss was placed on my exposed neck.</p><p>            “What are you think about, babe” Mitch asked.</p><p>            “Us, how we ended up together” I replied. “It’s been five years since we’ve met, since my life took a turn for the better.”</p><p>            “It’s been three since we started dating and since you became an assassin and First Prosecutor for the Counterterrorism Division of the CIA.” He added. I pulled out a small box from the pocket of my robe.</p><p>            “Our journey together hasn’t been stereotypical. It took us two years and the risk of losing each other to finally admit our feelings and while our lives have been unexpected, I couldn’t imagine having anyone else by my side. I don’t want anyone else by myside but you. Will you do me the honor of being my husband?” I said turning around to face him and giving him the box, I was holding. He pulled out a similar box from his pajama pants.</p><p>            “After Katrina, I never thought I would fall in love again. I was ready to live a life of revenge and rage but then you came into my life. You were sweet and understanding and reminded me of why I do what I do, but then I saw a different side of you that day in London. You were determined and protective of our classmates many of which you didn’t even know. You stared danger in the eye and fought despite your lack of training. I knew then that you were special. You caught me by surprise when you told me that you didn’t regret our actions that day. I asked to continue with my alias after return to the US because I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I watched as you took that determination and trained hard towards a goal that I had no idea of knowing until you told me your past and I realized just how strong you always have been. You are the most understanding, determined, protective and loving person I know. I trust no one else to watch my back and with my heart. Of course, I’ll marry you” he replied. My eyes teared up with tears of joy at his speech. We had never discussed why he had kept the alias until now. I let him put on the beautiful diamond and ruby engagement ring on my finger while I put the simple band that was engraved with the Celtic love knot on his. I looked at my ring which was a diamond in the center that looked like it was in the center of a swirl or ruby chips that extended to each side. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. Our kiss was interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door.</p><p>            “Mommy, daddy wake up we see abuela, abuelo, grandma, grandpa and Tio Nick today” a tiny voice said through the door. I smiled at Mitch but stepped away from him to go open the door for our daughter who had just turn two a few months ago but was advanced for her age. She often spoke in full sentences. I opened the door and picked her up. She had my auburn hair but Mitch’s cinnamon brown eyes.</p><p>            “Destiny we still have some time before we have to catch our flight” I told her walking over to where Mitch was still standing on the balcony.  I leaned against his chest as we watched the sun finish rising. Destiny had been a surprise from either our first night together or the two weeks that we were quarantined afterwards. The doctors had been unable to determine exactly when she had been conceived. Mitch and I hadn’t even talked about names when she was born. We were still trying to figure out our own relationship, but I knew that we would make it through it together even if at the moment neither of us were exactly ready for a family. When she was born, I immediately knew what I wanted to name her. With Mitch by my side as I held my daughter for the first time, I gave the nurse her name. Destiny Katrina Rapp. I am a strong believer of destiny and I knew that it was destiny that brought Mitch and I together, so I only thought it was fitting that our first child be names Destiny. I also knew that Katrina would always hold a place in Mitch’s heart. It never upset me, but I knew that it meant a lot to him that our child carried his first love’s name. I smiled as we stood there on the balcony enjoying the early morning. We were not the stereotypical family but that didn’t matter. Mitch and I loved each other, and we loved our daughter who was the perfect mix of both of us. This moment was perfect.</p>
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